


Vampies In Love

by BaeLee



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Damon, Bisexual Elijah, Blood, Blood Kink, Blood Sharing, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Coming Out, Delijah - Freeform, Emotionally Repressed, Falling In Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I'm not going into too much detail but it will happen, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Torture, Just a dash in the beginning, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sex, Torture, Vague Sex, background stelena, they're vampires it's okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2019-09-25 05:02:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17114990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaeLee/pseuds/BaeLee
Summary: Damon and Elijah were in love. Well, they still are, Damon had just forgotten for over half a century. With Elijah back in his life, Damon has to figure out how to navigate the concept of self acceptance and the slippery slope of coming out.Will Damon run away from the truth? Or will he do what makes him happy, regardless of what others might think?





	1. Oops, He Dead

**Author's Note:**

> If you want something done, do it yourself.

**Part One: The Unexpected  
**

 

Having the girl he’s in love with get kidnapped is not how Damon thought his day would start. Having the boy he used to be in love with being responsible for said kidnapping was not how he thought his day would end.

The morning had started out beautiful. Damon was still getting used to being in Mystic Falls and drinking out of blood bags instead of seducing his way into a feeding, but it all seemed worth it to stay close to his brother and Elena, even if they both gave off the impression that he wasn’t welcome.

Both Stefan and Elena were at school at the moment, which left Damon alone and bored. He supposed he could go to the grill, but Alaric was teaching, so Damon would be drinking alone. That idea did not sound appealing to him at all.

Damon passed the morning reading Stefan’s old journals and drinking more scotch than he should. This peacefulness was interrupted by Stefan slamming his way into their house.

“Damon, Do you know where Elena is?” Stefan seemed frantic and out of breath, which Damon would’ve reveled in if it didn’t mean Elena was MIA.

“No, I figured she was with you doing the whole learning thing,” Damon stood up, crossing his arms. “Why? Is she not?”

“No, I haven’t seen her all day,” Stefan turned around, leading Damon outside. “Come on, let’s see if Bonnie can do a locator spell to find her.”

~~~~~~~~

Stefan sat in the passenger seat of Damon’s car, obviously contemplating how to handle the situation at hand. Damon tried to concentrate on driving. If he let his mind wander too much, he would end up freaking out. Damon did not do freaking out.

Damon drank a blood bag, sharing a little with Stefan, and came up with a plan. When they arrived at the abandoned house that Elena was apparently in, he was ready. He and Stefan were going to get Elena back.

The plan worked fairly well, in Damon’s eyes. He was so focused on protecting Elena that he didn’t care who it was they were protecting her from. It didn’t matter. Whoever decided to mess with Elena deserved to die as far as he was concerned.

Damon listened, and when he attacked, he did it at full speed. He never paused. With a stake in his hand, he stabbed it directly into the kidnapper’s heart, pinning him to the wall.

With Elena now safe and the vampire’s skin turning grey, Damon finally took the opportunity to see who exactly it was he killed.

His stomach dropped.

“No,” Damon said out loud. It was impossible. He must be seeing things. “No,” He said again, backing up. He let go of the stake.

“What is it?” Stefan asked.

Damon’s relief felt soiled. “It’s--,” He paused to compose himself. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.” He just about ran out the door.

“What was that about?” He heard Elena ask Stefan.

“I don’t know,” Stefan replied, because of course he wouldn’t know. Damon never told him. He never told anyone. He never had anyone to tell and he never felt okay enough with himself to tell anyone. Now he didn’t think he could ever be okay enough.

Because the man he just killed was Elijah Mikaelson, the man he’s been in love with for sixty years.


	2. A Surprise Appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last night I wrote two chapters because I'm a lunatic. I figured I might as well post them since I have them. So here you go!

_“Are you done?” A smooth voice sounded from the end of the alley._

_Damon turned around quickly. He had just finished feeding on the poor girl who fell for his dreaminess in the bar, and his face was covered in blood._

_Damon didn’t hesitate. He ran up to the man, aiming to attack his neck. Quicker than he could comprehend, however, he was slammed against the side of the alley._

_Bricks dug into Damon’s back, and there was a hand wrapped around his throat._

_“That was quite a rude response to a simple question.” The man looked Damon in the eyes calmly and curiously._

_Damon tried to speak, but he could only make choked sounds. He pawed helplessly at the man’s wrist. In one of the rare moments of his vampire existence, Damon was afraid._

_“You’re upset,” The man said simply. He brought his free hand up to wipe away tears Damon hadn’t even realized he had shed. It was strange, Damon thought, that one hand could show such kindness while the other showed such aggression. “I’m not going to hurt you.”_

_The man let go of him, and Damon fell to the ground, gasping._

_“Who are you?” Damon barely choked out._

_“My name is Elijah, and I was hoping you would be able to assist me,”_

~~~~~~~~

That night, Damon found himself at Mystic Grill downing drink after drink. He wanted to forget everything that had happened. He didn’t think he ever would.

Elijah hadn’t even crossed his mind in decades. When he thought of past lovers, the only one that had ever come to mind was Katherine. He spent all this time thinking about unattainable Katherine when Elijah was still out there roaming around.

Not anymore, Damon thought. And then, What the fuck happened?

Alaric sat down to his left and ordered his usual. Damon was drunk enough that it didn’t really register.

“I heard what happened today,” Damon heard nothing. “Elena told me you and Stefan had to go save her.”

“I fucked up, Ric,” Damon smiled sadly. “I really fucked up, and I’m trying to pretend it didn’t happen, and you bringing it up is making that impossible.” He downed another drink.

“Elena is safe, Damon. You killed the vampire responsible. How did you fuck up?” Alaric looked at Damon’s profile, obviously expecting an answer.

“Night, Ric.” Damon stood up from his stool and made his way out of the grill.

Damon was done talking for tonight.

~~~~~~~~

Laying on his back in the middle of a road outside of town was most likely not the best idea for a drunk vampire trying to repress his feelings. But hell, Damon didn’t give a fuck about anything right now except contemplating turning his humanity off. Elena wouldn’t like it, but why should he care about that? She’s never going to love him back. Damon just killed the only person who had ever actually loved him back. He was going to end up alone. Forever.

_God, I really killed him._

What drove Damon mad was not just the that he had driven a stake through Elijah’s heart, but the fact that Damon seemed to have forgotten him until now. They were in love. His memories of the two together were so vivid it was as if they had just happened. The feelings were so raw and intense. Someone didn’t just forget a love that intense.

 _Elijah_.

Nobody was around. It was so dark that he was sure no human would be able to see and so quiet that he would be able to hear anything approach him. He was drunk enough that he allowed himself this moment to feel everything.

Damon started to cry, which felt good. He’d gone hours holding everything back. It felt good to let everything go. Once he started, however, it seemed impossible to stop. He was sobbing at this point, making horrible sounds that he would never let anyone hear.

He didn’t know how long he laid there, releasing every negative feeling from sorrow and guilt to anger and frustration. Not a single car had gone by.

When he felt that he had gotten his fill of feeling, Damon composed himself, stood up, and started walking towards town.

~~~~~~~~

The next day went by in a blur. Damon felt numb to everything. Night found him back at the grill drinking more. Alaric tried to ask him about what happened again, but Damon just ignored him. He didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to feel. He didn’t want to do anything anymore. What was the point when he felt so horrible about everything all the time?

Even the littlest things reminded Damon of Elijah. He saw someone eat the olive out of their martini. He finished off another drink.

He didn’t want to, but going home would be unbearable, leading Damon to the same road outside of town as the previous night. He laid down again, but instead of letting himself cry and feel everything, he looked up at the stars and felt nothing.

Pretty soon, headlights interrupted his melancholy. The car had come from town. A girl got out of the car, the only passenger. She couldn’t be much older than he had been when he turned. She seemed nice enough, but that wouldn’t really matter to Damon.

Damon compelled her not to scream, so she didn’t. Not when he first bit her, not when she was so weak she couldn’t hold herself up, and not when Damon drank the last of her blood. It was all over Damon’s face, but it seemed like such an insignificant detail.

He was just getting ready to take care of the body when another pair of headlights lit up in the opposite direction. Damon dropped the limb he had grabbed and waited for whoever was in the car to stop. He was starving from not feeding in almost two days, so he welcomed a second meal.

This time it was a man. He expected to hear something accusatory, but instead he was met with a question.

“Are you done?”

Damon started at the voice. It was too familiar, too similar. He had to be imagining things.

Daring himself to hope, Damon turned around.

Standing a couple yards away, impossibly alive, with a hand casually placed on his car door was none other than Elijah Mikaelson.

“Elijah?” Elijah nodded, walking towards the stunned Damon. “You’re... you’re alive?”

Elijah gently placed his hand on the back of Damon’s neck and touched their foreheads together.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow, kind of space them out a bit. 
> 
> I hope you liked this one!


	3. The Boys Reunite

_Damon couldn’t believe this was happening. He never would have guessed that this is where his life would have ended up, but at this point he didn’t care. He was too happy to care._

_He laid on his back with Elijah on top of him. They were so close and so hot that their bodies seemed to meld together. Damon’s hands were in Elijah’s hair, his oh so pretty hair. Elijah’s hands were in more fun places._

_Damon let his head fall back, and Elijah gently bit into his neck, drinking his blood. Despite the pain of the bite, Damon felt delirious with pleasure; he had never felt anything that resembled this. He was almost embarrassed by the sounds he was making. Almost._

_When they were finished and content, they remained side by side. Elijah stared into Damon’s lidded eyes. For once, Damon didn’t want the person in his bed to leave. His heart felt full._

_Damon moved closer to Elijah and rested his head underneath Elijah’s chin._

_“I love you,” Elijah whispered. Damon believed him._

_For once, Damon didn’t want to leave the person he shared a bed with. For once, Damon felt safe._

~~~~~~~~

“I don’t get it,” Damon said out of breath. Elijah had him pressed up against the car of the girl he had just drained, hands of either side of his face. They had been kissing. A lot. “You were dead. I… I killed you.” There was blood on both of their mouths.

“A little wood isn’t enough to get rid of me. I figured you had known,” Elijah held Damon’s gaze. This man sure did love eye contact, one of the reasons Damon loved him.

I love him.

“I thought I had actually killed you, Elijah,” Just saying his name invoked countless emotions inside of Damon. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

Elijah laughed. Damon missed his smile. God, he missed everything about him.

“All is forgiven, Damon. You didn’t seem to realize it was me, so I’m not upset with you,” Elijah gave Damon a soft kiss. “In fact, I’m proud of you. Not everyone can go up against an original and survive.” This time Damon laughed.

“I was such a mess. I cried for you, you know that? The thought of you dead nearly killed me,” Damon leaned his head back so he could look at Elijah better. Then, he noticed the Sun was starting to rise, and he frowned. “We should probably take care of her,” He said, nodding towards the now cold body still in the middle of the road. They were lucky nobody else had driven through here.

“You are a messy eater when you’re upset,” Elijah said while smiling. Damon would give anything to never lose that smile.

They both worked on getting the body far enough into the woods that search parties wouldn’t bother looking, and Elijah moved the girl’s care off the side of the road to give the appearance she had willingly gotten out of her car, which Damon supposed wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

It was only when they were both in Elijah’s care on their way to Mystic Falls that Damon remembered what had been bothering him so much not even a couple hours ago.

“Elijah?”

“Hmm?” They both kept their eyes on the road.

“You know I love you, right?” He wasn’t exactly sure why, but suddenly he felt nervous.

Elijah nodded. “And I love you,” So simple. So Elijah. “Why are you asking me this?”

“This is going to sound weird,” Damon let out a breath. “But until I staked you, it was almost as if I had forgotten about you.”

Elijah seemed to contemplate this. “Do you feel as if you’re forgetting anything now?”

Damon thought for a moment. “No, but I also didn’t feel that way before. Do you think I just suppressed it?” It seemed unlikely, but Damon couldn’t think of any other explanation.

“You didn’t suppress anything, Damon,”

“Then what happened?”

“I compelled you, Damon,” Damon whipped his head around to look at him. If it were anyone else having this conversation with him right now, Elijah would seem callous. Damon knew better. He was scared.

“You compelled me?”

“I compelled you to forget me, Damon,” Damon looked back at the road. “When I left you sixty years ago, I was in a dangerous situation. I still am, I suppose, but back then it was much worse. I wanted you to be safe, but I knew you wouldn’t agree to stay away. You always insisted on helping me. One of your charms,” Elijah turned to give Damon a smile. “I compelled you to forget me, to allow you to live your life the way you had been before we met.”

“Then how do I remember you now?” Damon wasn’t complaining. In fact, he was relieved he still remembered how to feel so deeply.

“I told you to forget all about me and what you felt for me, what we felt for each other. That is, you were to forget until you saw me again. Then, everything we shared would be returned to you,” Elijah removed one hand from the steering wheel to wrap around one of Damon’s. “That is why you are able to remember now.”

Damon laughed a breathy laugh. “You dick, you’re not allowed to do that,”

Too soon, they arrived back into town.

“Do you still live in that old house with your brother?” Elijah was already driving in that direction, but Damon wanted to keep talking. He wanted Elijah to stay right where he was next to him, where Damon could keep looking at him.

“I do, but I’m more interested in where you’re staying.” Damon hoped he was staying.

“A shitty motel, I’m afraid,” Elijah slowed the car down. “Nowhere near a nice as your elaborate room, I’m sure.”

“Shitty motel will do, then,” Damon’s grip on Elijah’s hand tightened. “Take me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Boinking and Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned: This chapter contains the first "sexy" scene I've ever written. Just a heads up.

_ The custom-made suit Damon wore was probably more than the occasion called for, but he  _ did  _ enjoy being dramatic from time to time. Damon walked into the party alone, but soon he found some familiar faces. People he bothered to know out of convenience spoke to him as if they were lifelong friends. He didn’t mind, but there was someone he had been hoping to meet. _

_ Eventually, Damon made his way to where drinks were being served. He always felt more confident with a glass in his hand and alcohol in his system. He briefly wondered if vampires could be alcoholics. _

_ Mingling continued for quite awhile, and soon Damon grew bored. The person he was supposed to meet had yet to show up.  _

_ Just as he was getting ready to leave, he spotted who he had been waiting for. Damon slowly sauntered towards his target and lightly grabbed the back of his arm. _

_ “Elijah,” Damon said, trying and failing to hide his relief. “What took you so long?” _

_ “I apologize. I was held up,” Elijah leaned his head closer to Damon’s, turning to whisper in his ear. “Some of our ‘friends’ had friends of their own.” _

_ “I assume you took care of them?” Elijah was fine, obviously, but he wanted to know nobody would be coming after them, at least for now.  _

_ “Don’t worry, they won’t be bothering us anymore,” Elijah looked at him, his eyes drifting down to Damon’s chest. “That suit turned out well. You look very handsome.” _

_ Not knowing how to respond to a compliment, Damon decided to change the subject. “So, is that a martini you’re drinking? Very classy choice,” Elijah looked at the drink in his hand while Damon put his hands in his pockets. “Never been a big fan of them myself. Olives aren’t exactly my thing.” _

_ “Maybe you should give them a chance,” Elijah said. He pinched the toothpick between his fingers and brought the olive in front of Damon’s face. “Here.” _

_ Bewildered with himself, Damon opened his mouth without complaint. Elijah placed the olive on Damon’s tongue, and Damon closed his mouth just enough to take the olive. Elijah was staring at Damon. Damon stared back.  _

_ Damon gave the answer to Elijah’s question. “I think I might like olives more than I thought.” _

_ Elijah smirked. _

~~~~~~~~

Damon’s composure slipped the closer they got to where Elijah was staying. He wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to go. He knew what he wanted, to pick up right where they had left off, but Damon knew that the amount of time they had been apart couldn’t be ignored altogether. 

However, when Elijah pressed him against the closed door of his motel room and kissed in the deep way Damon so desperately craved, it was easy to let these thoughts dissipate. 

The kissing was good, but Damon was an impatient person, and he wanted more. He rushed the two to the bed, pinning Elijah on his back with Damon on all fours above him. For just a moment, the two looked at each other. Elijah placed his hand on the side of Damon’s face, slowly rubbing his thumb over the other’s cheek. 

Damon leaned down and snatched Elijah’s bottom lip between his teeth. He got the result he wanted. Elijah rolled them over so Damon was beneath him, and Damon took the opportunity to bite into him. He didn’t drink much, just enough to remind himself of the taste and make a mess of his face. Elijah ran his fingers along Damon’s neck, down his throat, and across his chest, ripping his shirt the entire way. 

More clothes were abandoned in a blur, both of the men focused on getting closer to each other. Their hands were all over each other, remembering a dance that had been choreographed decades prior. 

Everything was so much, and Damon got exactly what he craved. Elijah was on top of Damon, around him, inside him, their blood in each other’s mouths. They were ferocious and desperate. 

Hours later, as they lay facing each other, a thought occurred to Damon.

“Elijah,” He practically whispered. “While you were gone, I--,” He closed his eyes as Elijah put a hand on his cheek. “I went sixty years thinking I was alone. And you know how I am. I slept around. I didn’t know--,” Damon’s voice cracked. He was embarrassed but felt he deserved it.

“I am the one who forced you to forget. I am not angry with you.”

Damon let out a sigh. “I’m still sorry.”

Elijah smiled and moved closer to Damon. “I know who you are, Damon. You pretend to not feel anything when you actually feel so intensely. When you get hurt, you seek comfort in what others can give to you, whether that be blood or sex. I know you are tremendously loyal, to the point where you would willingly die to protect those you care about,” He paused. “I also know that you know who I am. You know that I am understanding. That I am upfront with what I am feeling. You know that if I had any issues with your actions, you would not be in this bed with me right now.” 

Damon lamely nodded, reassured. “Yeah, I know.”

Elijah gave him a light kiss on his forehead. “And you know I love you,” A statement, not a question. 

“And I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! It means a lot to me!


	5. A Brotherly Dismissal

_“I just don’t understand why it’s such a big deal for you to meet my brother,” Damon said while turned away from Elijah._

_“It’s important because he is your family. I assume you want to have him in your life at some point. I also assume you want me to remain in your life,” Elijah paused. “Perhaps I assumed wrong.”_

_Damon sighed. He didn’t know how to form words that would accurately describe why telling Stefan would be a bad move. “You didn’t assume wrong. I just have such a rocky relationship with my brother as is. I don’t need to add my relationship with you to the reasons Stefan has to cut me out of his life for good.”_

_Elijah started, seemingly shocked by what had just come out of Damon’s mouth. “Do you think he would disapprove of me because I’m an original? Or because I am a man.” Damon could tell Elijah already knew the answer and was clearly hurt._

_“Stefan already hates me for many things: how I feed, how I compel people, how I take the slightest joy in killing humans. Those are all things I can handle him hating me for, because they’re all things I have control over,” Damon turned around to face Elijah, but refrained from looking him in the eye. “If he ended up hating me for something I had no control over, I don’t know what I would do.”_

_Elijah stepped towards Damon, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “If Stefan hated you for something you have no control over, then he doesn’t_ deserve _to have you in his life.”_

_“It’s not that I’m ashamed of you,” Damon’s voice cracked. “It’s just that I’m terrified.”_

_Elijah lifted his free hand to place it on Damon’s cheek. Damon closed his eyes. “You always will be. I would know.”_

~~~~~~~~

It was late afternoon when Damon finally woke up. The cheap bed he was in made his back cramp up. There was an arm around his waist and dried blood caked to his mouth and chin. Just the thought of what happened the previous night, or perhaps mornings, was enough to make Damon smile.

Peeking over his shoulder, he found the face of a sleeping Elijah. Trying not to bother him, Damon turned on his side to look at the sleeping man more easily. Sunlight filtered in between the dirty curtains, shining on the space between the two.

After a couple of minutes, Damon decided that he should probably remind his brother that he was alive. Stefan had a tendency to pretend Damon wasn’t around in order to make his life more tolerable. Damon gave Elijah a little nudge on the shoulder in order to wake him up.

“Hmm?” Elijah groaned without opening his eyes.

“Hey,” Damon started. When Elijah cracked open one eye, he continued. “Hey, I have to go see Stefan. The last time he saw me I wasn’t exactly all right in the head.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Elijah’s voice was a kind of groggy that very few people would have the pleasure of hearing.

“I just need to let him know that I’m okay,” Elijah made a noise of agreement. “I’ll see you later.”

Damon removed himself from the bed and Elijah’s arm and started the search for his clothes. His pants were fine, but his shirt was trashed: ripped and bloody from their lustful night. Instead of going shirtless, he grabbed Elijah’s shirt that had fared much better.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to have to borrow this,” Damon said as he put the shirt on.

“Looks better on you,” Elijah smiled from the bed. “Just make sure you return it to me personally.”

“I think I can manage that,” Damon smirked, then left the room.

~~~~~~~~

Damon arrived to an empty house. He expected Stefan to be home already, as school should have let out, but he figured that Stefan was spending time with Elena. Damon was okay with this, though, because it gave him time to figure out how he was going to explain what had happened over the past three days. Telling Stefan the truth would obviously explain everything, but Damon still had reservations about that specific course of action. Stefan would assume the worst if Damon brushed him off, which might be the best choice. Damon also had to come up with an explanation that would allow him to sneak off to see Elijah without his pesky little brother feeling the need to follow him. The situation was looking to be rather sticky.

Too soon, Stefan walked in. Damon had poured himself a glass of blood and was laying across one of the couches, looking into the burning fireplace.

“I see you’re back from whatever escapade you went on that I’m sure will make the news tomorrow,” Stefan sat himself down on the couch next to Damon, attempting to act casually, but failing.

“Yes, I am, and don’t you worry, I didn’t do anything too crazy,” Stefan nodded, obviously relieved. “Though, on an unrelated note, there might be a young woman that went missing.” Stefan sighed and shook his head.

“You can’t just disappear like that, Damon. Not right after Elena’s been kidnapped, and definitely not after Alaric tells me you were getting drunk and talking nonsense.”

This made Damon sit up. “What exactly did Alaric tell you?”

“Just that you said you fucked up,” Stefan looked Damon in the eyes. “What are not telling me, Damon.”

Damon put on his ‘bad boy’ voice. He knew he wouldn’t get Stefan off his back any other way. “There’s a _lot_ I don’t tell you, and just because I spewed some drunken jargon to Alaric doesn’t mean there’s anything you should be concerned about,” Damon stood up to leave. Damon obviously chose the easiest explanation, not the most convincing. “I didn’t do _much_ , Stefan. Stop worrying.”

One day, Damon might consider telling his brother the truth. Right now, however, Damon was perfectly happy keeping his little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	6. Damon Gets Freaked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm kind of changing the canon a bit to fit what I want to do in this story. It's fine.
> 
> Also these updates are going to come less frequently because school is the death of creativity. But I know where I want to go with this story and I really want to finish it, so no worries on that part.

_“You still love her, don’t you?” Elijah asked softly from behind Damon. They were currently walking down an empty city street in the early hours of the morning._

_Damon didn’t slow down. In fact, he wanted to run from this conversation as quickly as possible. “Who?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer._

_“Katerina.”_

_Damon looked over his shoulder. “Do you?” Elijah just raised his eyebrows._

_“The feelings I had for Katerina were short-lived. You, however, were actively involved with her for several years,” Damon heard Elijah’s footsteps slow and stop. “It’s an honest question, Damon.”_

_Damon stopped and turned to face Elijah. He could tell Elijah wanted a serious answer. “I mean, I do still feel something for her. I was in love with her when I turned. Those feelings don’t go away easily,” Well, Damon tried his best._

_Damon looked for any reaction in Elijah’s face, and he found absolutely nothing._

_“Very well,” Elijah said and continued walking._

_Damon figured there was something he wasn’t saying. He’d done that a lot, too, so he’d learned to recognize when others were doing it._

_“Why’d you ask?” Damon asked._

_“Always one for subtly, Damon,” Elijah waited for Damon to catch up. “I just wanted to know where your priorities lie.”_

_“Are you sure you’re not trying to figure out how well you can seduce me?” Damon said. He was uncomfortable, so he did what he always does when he’s uncomfortable: he makes everyone else uncomfortable with his weird joking._

_“Maybe I am,” Elijah said, then winked at Damon._

_Who does this guy think he is?, Damon thought. He could feel something he wasn’t ready to address happening in his chest. Then he thought, Fuck this guy. Then, Fuck._

~~~~~~~~

“Why did you kidnap Elena?” Damon asked a couple of nights after his chat with Stefan. His back was against Elijah’s chest, and Elijah was propped up on the wall behind the bed.

“Many people assume that I’m a good person to speak with if they wish to speak to Klaus,” Elijah rested his chin on the top of Damon’s head. “Rose and Trevor took Elena in order to get on Klaus’s good side.”

“But why would Klaus have a need for her?”

“Elena is a doppelganger, which Klaus needs in order to break a curse.”

Damon paused, unsure if he should asked his next question. Being someone who does not like to be kept in the dark, he asked. “Were you planning on handing her over?”

Elijah scoffed. “Klaus has made his choice regarding his family loyalties. I have no desire to help him achieve anything,” He paused. “No, I was not going to hand her over. I was actually going to keep her safe from Klaus.”

“That’s good.”

Damon felt Elijah gently twine their fingers together. “You care for her, don’t you?” He asked quietly.

Damon looked at their hands and tightened his grip. “I do, just not the way you’re thinking,” Damon may have been starting to develop deeper feelings for Elena before, but now that he remembered having Elijah in his life, he had no intentions of pursuing them. He was happy with his love life as it was, and he liked having Elena as a friend. He didn’t want to mess anything up with what amounted to no more than a crush.

“Maybe one day I could properly be introduced?” Elijah ask, but Damon knew what he was really asking. Elijah was never one to push, but he would occasionally give hints that he wished for Damon to take the next step in a certain direction. A direction that scared Damon endlessly.

“Maybe,” Damon said noncommittedly. He would admit to himself that his life would be incredibly easy if he could have Elijah around all the time, but he was just terrified of the change it would bring.

~~~~~~~~

A few days passed, Klaus arrived in Mystic Falls, and everything went to shit. At least, for Damon it did. Elijah kept his word, as he always did, and used his warlocks and his own strength to keep Elena out of harm’s way. However, with his estranged brother in town, Elijah was on edge. Damon couldn’t blame him. He and Stefan had had their downs in their relationship, but Damon could tell that the prospect of killing Klaus was taking its toll on Elijah. Monster or not, they were family.

Now, Damon was in the midst of fighting alongside Stefan in order to free Caroline from a pack of angry wolves. Things were going downhill for the two brothers very quickly. Stefan was surrounded by three wolves, and Damon had one trying to rip his head off.

Just when Damon thought he was done for, one of the warlocks walked into the area, and all of the wolves fell to the ground in pain. Damon nudged the one behind him with his shoe. Unconscious.

Stefan seemed just as relieved as he was to be alive, and he could see that Tyler had gotten Caroline free. The warlock, whose name Damon had never bothered to remember, stood in front of the two brothers who were still trying to catch their breaths. Stephen seemed surprised at the events that had just unfolded.

“Why did you help us?” he asked.

The warlock tilted his head as if the answer were obvious. “Elijah asked me to protect you,” He said. It wouldn’t have meant anything more to anyone if he hadn’t been looking Damon square in the eye while saying it.

Damon’s heart sped up, hoping Stefan wouldn’t notice the statement’s true meaning. He felt as though the warlock had just about announced that Elijah and Damon were canoodling.

“Well, tell him we said thanks,” Damon said, hoping to steer this interaction in a less treasonous direction.

“You can tell him yourself.” Damon could hear the smirk on the man’s face. He knew. How did he know? Elijah must have told him, which was fine, but why did this guy think he could out him like this?

Damon was panicking and failing miserably at hiding it. So he did what he does best. He averted.

“Sorry, but I don’t take order from witchy woos,” He said. Then, he turned around and walked back in the direction of town. He hoped Stefan would stay behind to deal with Caroline. He didn’t need his nosey brother following him right now. There was something he needed to do.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Damon may have definitely forgotten the warlock's name because I didn't know and I was too lazy to look it up.


	7. Damon Spills the Beans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof this is a long one for me, but I didn't want to cut the scene off if there was still more to be said. 
> 
> Also, I'm uploading these chapters as I finish them, which is why the update schedule is so whack.

_Damon and Elijah were sitting in a hotel room, going through news articles, police reports, and other sources of information. They were trying to find someone, but that someone was either very good at hiding, or they didn't exist._   
  
_"Hopefully we find this guy soon. Then, at least, you'll finally get rid of me." Damon's patience was waning, and he was feeling irritable. They had been looking for weeks with no luck, and there was something about working with Elijah that made him uneasy._   
  
_"Why would you think I would want to 'get rid of you'?" Elijah looked up from the paper he was reading. Damon didn't meet his eyes._   
  
_"I'm a dick." Damon didn't actually know how to handle this guy. He hadn't scared him off just yet, but he figured exaggerating his shitty personality might gain him his freedom._   
  
_"Believe it or not, I do enjoy your company," Elijah said, turning his eyes back down to the paper. "I actually find you quite charming."_   
_  
_This took Damon by surprise. Very rarely was his sarcasm met genuinely. He also didn’t expect stoic Elijah to bust out what seemed to be a fairly emotional statement. A typical interaction of this sort stayed on the sexual level. Damon never let himself feel anything more. The only person he had ever loved had abandoned him 90 years ago. Saved herself and left him to die.

_Logically, Damon knew Elijah must be messing with him, however, the self-preservation part of him told him to stop this conversation before it even started._

_“You’re not so bad yourself,” Damon wanted to cringe as he said it. He didn’t want to lead this guy on, especially considering how easily he could overpower him, but the sentence seemed to spill from his mouth._

_Damon’s so called “self-preservation” clearly wasn’t enough to override his sense of “fuck it”, but what could Damon say? He was apparently a masochist._

 

_~~~~~~~~_

 

Damon stumbled his way through the woods surrounding mystic falls, blood pounding in his ears and drowning out everything. His thoughts were going a million miles a minute, and he was sure that if he were human, his heart would’ve given out.

Eventually, he found his way back into town. He followed the streets until he arrived at the house he needed. Damon knew what he needed to do, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a nervous wreck.

Damon climbed his way onto the edge of the window of the second story and peeked inside. Before he could chicken out, he pushed the window open and entered.

“Oh my god, Damon!” Elena cried, startled by Damon’s sudden appearance. She was dressed in pajamas and had been rearranging some books. Now, she looked at Damon almost angrily. He couldn’t really blame her, either. “What are you doing here?”

“Look, something happened, and I really need to talk to somebody,” Something in Damon’s voice must’ve clued Elena in to his emotional distress, because she sat down on the foot of her bed, leaving room for Damon to sit down. He did. “You’re one of the only people that I consider a friend, and I need to tell someone before I lose my mind or rip out my hair or something.”

Damon’s heart hammered. He knew this moment was coming, but knowing something was coming and being prepared to actually deal with it were two entirely different situations. Elena looked at him next to her, but Damon stared straight ahead. He knew that if he met her eyes, he wouldn't be able to spit anything out.

Gathering his courage, he took a deep breath, and started talking.

“I’m in love with someone,” He blurted. Saying those words out loud felt so strange. As he continued speaking, Damon felt as though it were someone else saying everything. He felt distant and numb. “And I’m afraid to tell Stefan. Or anyone. But especially Stefan.”

Elena looked ahead. “Oh,” she said simply.

“I know it seems like a weird thing to get freaked out over, but-,”

“Damon, we can’t do this,” Elena cut him off. She stood up and walked a few steps away. “I love Stefan, and you’re going to have to accept that.”

“What?” Damon was confused. Did she really think he would come to her room in a panic to tell her he loves her? Damon had more class than that. “Elena, I’m not in love with you.”

Elena turned around to face him with a face that looked as lost as he felt. “What are you saying? You were in love with Katherine before. Who could you be in love with now that is so much worse you would be afraid to tell _Stefan_ -?”

“It’s Elijah.” Damon couldn’t stop himself from spitting it out. It was easy enough to say in the moment, but now that he realized it was out there, he was losing his mind. He could barely hold eye contact with Elena, opting instead to stare at the floor.

“ _That’s_ what you’re afraid to tell Stefan?” Elena put her hand on Damon’s shoulder, a faint smile on her face. “I assume you’ve known him longer than you’re letting on.”

Damon laughed incredulously. “Am I really that obvious?” he said, which caused Elena to chuckle.

“Well, you’ve been acting pretty strange since he’s gotten into town.” Elena sat down next to Damon again, and this time, he looked at her. He was still nervous, but the heart-pounding panic he had been feeling earlier was easing its way out of him. “So, how long have you two been together?”

Damon couldn’t help but smile, remembering the first time he realized he felt something more than just friendship for his current lover. He had no idea then what it would eventually grow into. “We met in 1952. I didn’t realize I loved him until a year later.”

“How come you never mentioned him before? Why tell me now?”

“Well, Elijah is an original with a very dangerous brother, so when he had a dispute with said brother, he wanted to keep me safe by making me forget about him. That way I couldn’t be used as leverage.” Damon didn’t enjoy the fact that he was forced to forget the love of his life for decades, but he understood why Elijah had done it.

“Then how do you remember him now?” Of all the things Damon had been expecting to come out of this conversation, a questionnaire was not one of them.

“He compelled me to only remember him when I saw him again. He’s been laying low and playing it safe until recently, when he stumbled into you, causing me to stumble into him.” It felt nice for Damon to talk openly about this, but he did want to know what Elena thought of it all. “So, you’re seriously unfazed by this?”

“I mean, it’s a bit unexpected, but you being in love with Elijah is a lot easier to handle than all of this curse-doppelganger situation,” She gave Damon a strange look. “Why? Were you expecting me to freak out?”

“A little bit, yes.”

“Damon, this isn’t the 1950’s. There are so many gay and bi people that are open about who they are. You don’t need to be afraid to love who you want.” Elena stood up, giving a small pull on Damon’s arm to tell him to do the same. He did. “You should tell Stefan. He’ll be okay with it. He’s your brother.”

“My brother from the 1860’s. You weren’t alive back then, but it wasn’t exactly an accepting world. What if he still thinks that way?” The world could have changed as time passed, but Damon knew his brother was steadfast. It wasn’t crazy to think he might not approve of Damon and Elijah being together.

“If he has a problem with it, then he’s going to have to deal with me,” Elena said, looking at him before pulling him into a hug. “It’s going to be okay. He’s your brother. He’ll understand,” She practically whispered.

Damon pulled away from the hug. “Thank you,” He said, then climbed out of the window.

It turned out that talking to Elena had been the best choice to make. Damon’s nerves were going haywire, and he was still afraid to tell Stefan, but he was no longer paralyzed by his fear. As he walked back to the home he shared with his brother, he told himself that he could do this.

_I can do this. It’s going to be fine. He’s my brother._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what it is about coming out scenes that I love, but I love them nonetheless.


	8. Damon Falls Ill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took me so long to get out. I made it extra long to make up for the wait. 
> 
> Also, some notes:
> 
> \- Werewolf bites in this fic act faster than those in the show.
> 
> \- I don't fully remember the exact timeline of the show, but at this point, the Salvatores' house has been signed over to Elena
> 
> \- I said it in the fic itself, but vampire blood doesn't "go bad" the way human blood does, so you can store it forever and it's fine
> 
> \- Multiple POVs! This will probably be the only time this happens, but this chapter just doesn't work with only Damon's perspective.
> 
> And that's all! Again, sorry about the wait.

_ Damon was frustrated. The lead he was following had been a dead end, and being thrown into a such a bad situation did not bode well for a vampire with recently turned on emotions.  _

_ He was still getting used to feeling everything when the girl he had spent weeks trying to find turned up dead from a broken neck. Damon didn’t doubt that someone was actively working to slow him and Elijah down, and it was all so  _ frustrating _.  _

_ Damon wasn’t exactly the most patient person in the world, so he decided to deal with this helplessness he couldn’t seem to get away from in the way he knows best. _

_ He had ditched Elijah a few hours ago and made his way to a seedy bar where the drinks were cheap and the people were even cheaper. Damon wasn’t in a playful mood, so he figured that the least amount of effort he had the put in, the better. _

_ He had been sitting at the bar for a couple of hours but was only on his second drink. He didn’t want to lose himself before he got what he wanted. Soon enough, however, a decently attractive girl made the mistake of sitting a stool away from Damon at the bar.  _

_ Damon chatted the girl up, giving her his most charming smile, and she smiled right back. In only a couple minutes, she moved seats, now occupying the stool right next to Damon. He had won. He looked her dead in the eyes and said “You’re going to follow me out of this bar into the back alley where nobody will see us, and you will look eager about it.” _

_ The woman did so. Damon held her hand to sell the story, an effort wasted on the mostly drunk people they walked past.  _

_ Once in the alley, Damon compelled the girl again. “Don’t move or scream.” And Damon bit into the girl’s neck. He didn’t know what it was, but something about feeding on people seemed to calm him down, giving him what almost felt like a buzz.  _

_ Footsteps sounded down the alley, and Damon let go of the girl long enough to see that it was Elijah that had shown up.  _

_ “Sorry if I’m interrupting, but I worried you might be making poor decisions.” Elijah looked skeptically at the bleeding girl.  _

_ “I’m always making bad decisions. But I don’t mind the company.” Damon smirked, then moved the girl between them. Elijah took a few steps forward, then hesitated. Damon tilted the girls head to expose the side of her neck that wasn’t bleeding when he noticed Elijah looking intensely at him.  _

_ “Very well.” Elijah said. He stepped up to the girl, then promptly bit into her, all while maintaining eye contact with Damon.  _

_ Damon let out a breathy laugh, then resumed his position feeding on the other side of the girl. For a minute, the two men shared a meal. When the girl started to stagger due to the blood loss, Damon let go, Elijah following suit.  _

_ A little too harshly, Damon pushed the girl to the side so that he could look at Elijah with nothing in between them. He didn’t really want to admit it, but seeing Elijah with blood coating his mouth and staining his pristine clothes stirred something in him. He couldn’t explain it, but this particular sight felt burned into Damon’s memory.  _

_ Suddenly, Damon found himself pinned against the same wall he had pinned the girl not that long ago. Elijah had both of his hands pressed against the wall on either side of Damon’s head, their chests brushing lightly against each other. Their faces were inches apart.  _

_ “What’d you do that for?” Damon couldn’t bring himself to look away from Elijah’s gaze. _

_ They were both breathing heavily, and Damon felt it on his lips.  _

_ “I want to kiss you.” Elijah said in an almost husky voice. This declaration should be surprising to Damon, but he felt as though he already knew. And he was okay with it. _

_ “So do it.” Damon whispered. He sat there, staring at Elijah as he seemed to contemplate what to do. After what seemed like forever, Elijah shook his head. Damon had the nerve to be disappointed.  _

_ “You have to want this, Damon. You have to want this as much as I do,” Elijah started to step back. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case.” _

_ Damon sure as hell didn’t know what he wanted, but he knew that he hated seeing Elijah walk away from him. In a split second, Damon had grabbed Elijah and pressed him against the wall, switching their positions. Before he could say anything, Damon put his hands on both of Elijah’s cheeks and kissed him. Elijah placed his hands around Damon’s wrists and kissed him back.  _

_ They didn’t move for quite some time. _

~~~~~~~~

Damon let the cold air of the autumn night cool him down as he walked back to his own house. He had calmed down some after talking to Elena, but he could still feel the nervousness from before lingering in him. No matter what he told himself, his heart kept beating rapidly. 

He wasn’t in a rush to talk to Stephen, and he was worn out from both the fight from earlier and his discussion with Elena, so Damon took his time walking. 

Though his pace wasn’t brisk and there was a breeze that chilled him earlier, Damon found himself wiping away sweat from his forehead and neck. He felt hot, which he, at first, accredited to his emotional state. It was only when he began to feel weak that Damon realized something else was going on. 

Vampires weren’t supposed to get sick. They got tired, sure, and had hypersensitive emotions, but they were immune to disease and infection. He didn’t know how or why, but right now, Damon felt sick. Vaguely, he noticed pain in his wrist and the sleeve that was a little bloodier than the rest of him.

He wasn’t sure what to do, so he stumbled home as fast as he could. Hopefully, he was just overthinking things and would feel fine after he got some sleep. Ignoring problems had always been Damon’s go-to solution, so he didn’t see why now should be any different. 

However, once he walked through the front door of his home and saw his brother sitting alone on one of their couches, Damon realized that ignoring this specific problem would only make the situation worse.

Damon could no longer keep himself standing. Bracing himself against one of their walls, he pulled up his shirt sleeve to expose the offending injury. Along the side of his wrist, there was the smallest of scratches. A werewolf bite. 

“Well, that’s no good.” Damon muttered. He closed his eyes and heard Stefan move closer to him.

“What’s wrong?” 

Damon huffed and let his arm drop to his side, allowing his brother to see. 

“Is that-?” Stefan asked.

“Must’ve gotten it during that fight and didn’t notice until now.” Damon’s head was reeling. He couldn’t think, wishing this would all go away. By now, he could barely walk. Thankfully, Stefan quickly came to his side, giving him the support he needed. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you somewhere you can lay down. You need to rest.”

Stefan guided Damon up the stairs and into his bedroom. Once they reached the edge of the bed, however, Damon pushed his brother off of him in an attempt to spare his dignity. He practically collapsed onto the bed, and the relief from no longer having to stand was instantaneous. Stefan left the room, and Damon could make out the sound of him making a phone call, but he couldn’t tell who was on the receiving end. 

Soon, Damon fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~

  
  


When Elena saw that Stefan was calling her, she figured he wanted to fill her in on what had happened that night. Instead, she was hit over the head with terrible news.

“He was bitten by a werewolf?” Elena asked, panic laced in her voice. “That can’t be right. I was just talking to him.”

“Why were talking with Damon?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Elena realized she slipped up too late She figured that soon, it wouldn’t matter. “I’m coming over. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Elena hung up her call with Stefan and looked through her contacts as she made her way out of her house. She needed to make one more call. She didn’t care that she might break Damon’s fragile trust. 

She found the right number and called. 

‘Elijah,” she said. “There’s something wrong with Damon.”

If Damon was dying, Elijah deserved to be there more than anyone.

~~~~~~~~

As soon as Elijah heard the words ‘werewolf bite’, his brain turned off. He grabbed a vial of his brother’s blood, thankful that vampire blood didn’t go bad the way human blood did, and ran to the boarding house in what was probably record time. However, upon arrival, Elijah found himself unable to go inside.

Stefan was a smart one, Elijah would give him credit, because even after swinging the front door open, he was met with the doorway of a house he had not been invited into. 

“Stefan,” Elijah called out. “Let me in.”

Stefan came into view, a worried look on his face. “Why should I let you come in? Because you helped us in that fight by sending a minion? I still don’t trust you, so leave.” Stefan turned away.

“I can save him.” 

Stefan stopped in his tracks. “Even if I believed you, I would never trust you anywhere near him. And besides, I can’t be the one to invite you.”

“Then I’ll tell you how to cure him. Just, please, let me help.” Elijah was getting desperate. He had seen enough vampires succumb to a werewolf bite, and it always ended in tragedy. He couldn’t bear the thought of that happening to the man he loved.

Upon hearing his words, Stefan stiffened. “How do you even  _ know _ what happened to him?”

Elijah heard footsteps approaching behind him, and turned to see Elena walking up towards the house. “What’s going on?” she asked when she saw Elijah in the doorway. 

“Elijah,” Stefan said in a low voice. “Leave.”

Now standing next to Elijah, Elena stepped in. “I asked him to come, Stefan.” Ignoring his surprise, Elena said, “Elijah, please come in.”

Elijah walked in through the door carefully, then quickly made his way up to where he could hear Damon’s labored breathing. Stefan made an attempt to stop him, but Elijah, being stronger and more emotionally charged than Stefan, brushed past him like he was nothing. 

The sight he found in Damon’s room broke his heart. Damon was the strongest person he knew, and to see him in so much pain would have destroyed him if he knew he couldn’t help him. Elijah quietly went to sit on the bed next to Damon and brushed some sweat-soaked hair out of his face. 

  
“Damon,” Elijah said gently. Damon opened his eyes, confusion written on his face. “Drink this.” He opened the vial and handed it to Damon. Skeptically and weakly, Damon drank it. 

“What the fuck?” was all he had to say. 

Elijah gave him a small smile and placed a hand on one of his cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, Damon.”

Elijah sat with him, undisturbed, and waited for Damon to heal.

 

~~~~~~~~

“What the hell, Elena?” Stefan said. Elena understood why he was upset, but she was afraid of accidentally outing Damon by explaining. “Why would you trust Elijah of all people to come in here?”

“Damon was dying, and he wanted to help. If he offered to help fix what we thought to be unfixable, of course I would let him try. I would let anyone try.” 

Stefan sighed and put a hand over his mouth. “If you trust him, then I guess I’ll trust him, too,” he said in resignation. “I just don’t understand why he would want to help Damon without getting anything in return.”

Elena could tell that he was still tense, but she knew that she was on thin ice when it came to the truth. The smallest of cracks, and she would end up falling in. 

“Let’s just focus on the fact that Damon is going to survive this. Obviously, we don’t know how exactly, but let’s be thankful that we don’t have to say goodbye.” Elena said, hoping that it was enough to quell Stefan’s fears.

Thankfully, Stefan nodded. “You’re right. And if it works, then I can figure this out.” 

Elena sat down in front of the fireplace and motioned for Stefan to sit next to her. He did, and together they waited for something, anything, to indicate that Damon would make it out of this in one piece.

~~~~~~~~

Stefan trusted Elena with everything. He had stopped hiding things from her a long time ago, and Elena had never been one for keeping secrets. So when he asked her about Elijah, he could tell that there was something she wasn’t telling him. Elijah, too, seemed to be withholding information by avoiding Stefan’s questions. 

Then there was the fact that Damon had spoken to Elena about something, that which Elena wouldn’t tell him. 

There was something going on that Stefan wasn’t aware of, but he was determined to figure it out, whatever it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I think the next chapter might be the last one of a solid continuity, and the rest will be kind of jumping around or skipping parts of the show. I have ideas of things I want to address in this fic, but I don't want to sludge through the parts of the show that aren't relevant to the story I want to tell.


	9. Damon Chills Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long to get out! I've had the flashback written for so long, but never got around to the actual chapter part with all of my exams. No more excuses, though! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

_The two men laid together in the middle of the woods. They had stumbled upon a clearing that gave them a rare, unobstructed sight of the night sky. The grass was damp and soaking into their clothes, but Damon didn’t care._

_“Do you have a family?” Damon asked. Elijah remained silent for a moment before responding._

_“I do. Three brothers and a sister.”_

_Damon could tell that he was holding back. He didn’t blame him. If being vampires strained his relationship with Stefan, he didn’t want to even imagine how it would affect a family of five siblings._

_“I take it things aren’t so great.” Damon wanted to know more, but didn’t want to press too much. He knew what it was like to share things without actually revealing anything about himself._

_“I haven’t seen them in a long time, is all,” Elijah said. He seemed sad talking about them, though, so Damon hurried to change the subject._

_Damon adjusted his arm so it supported his head. “I have a brother. He’s a pain in the ass, and we often don’t get along.” He glanced at the man next to him. He seemed more in the moment than he had a moment before. “Most of it’s my fault, though, so I can’t complain much.”_

_At this, Elijah turned his head to look at Damon. He raised himself on an elbow to look at him better. “How is it your fault?” His tone was very serious, which brought a chuckle out of Damon._

_“Stefan makes a new life for himself, I come in and destroy it. It’s just how we work.” Damon said. Elijah just gave him an incredulous look. Or, at least, as incredulous as the stoic man could muster. “I do try to make things right, try to fit into his life. But every time, without fail, I screw something up, and Stefan ends up hating me for a couple decades or so.”_

_“How do you mess things up?” Elijah asked gently. Speaking to Elijah was always easy, so the words practically spilled out of him._

_“I kill someone. The reason varies; sometimes I’m trying to prove a point, or it’s a bad time in my life. There were a couple of times I was trying to help him.” Damon wanted to laugh at the idea. Him, the disaster, helping Stefan, the golden boy. “But it always ends with me killing someone and Stefan seeing me as a monster.” Talking about these things would probably do him some good later, but right now, he felt terrible._

_Elijah moved closer to Damon, cupping his cheek with his free hand. “You’re not a monster Damon. I’ve seen your kind heart. If Stefan can’t see it, or wants you to change to be in his life, then he doesn’t deserve you.”_

_Was Damon really going to cry on this beautiful night that was meant to be a relaxing escape? “I guess I’m just afraid of Stefan seeing the real me and deciding I’m not good enough. So I mess it up and leave before he can have the chance.” Elijah’s thumb brushed away a stray tear that had escaped despite Damon’s attempts at keeping his emotions contained._

_“If he knew how much you really cared, there’s no way he could ever think you weren’t good enough,” Elijah said. Damon smiled._

_“Why are you so good at this?” Damon asked._

_“Because it’s what you deserve,” Elijah said as if the answer were obvious._

_Damon didn’t often consider what he wanted, let alone what he deserved, but he never imagined that he would ever deserve someone as incredible as this._

~~~~~~~~

It had been hours since the werewolf venom had cleared up and Damon felt well enough to move around. Feeling like a goddamn teenager, he had snuck out of his bedroom window so he could meet up with Elijah. He would have to offer some sort of explanation to Stefan after what just happened, but Damon wanted to avoid doing so for as long as possible.

For now, he sat next to Elijah on the latter’s bed, both of their backs pressed against the wall. Elijah was flipping through the pages of an old, deteriorated book while Damon squished his cheek against his shoulder. He had given up on trying to understand whatever the book said. He couldn’t even recognize the language.

It was a rare feeling for him, but Damon soaked up every detail of the moment. The sunlight cast stripes across the bed. He could hear Elijah’s steady heartbeat and the sharp noise of a page turning. The stale hotel stench was easily covered up when Damon buried his nose in his boyfriend’s shoulder, and even though it was late fall, he was plenty warm pressed against Elijah.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Elijah gently closed his book and rested his head atop Damon’s.

“You should get back,” Elijah whispered. “You’re brother is probably worried about you.”

“He can wait.”

Elijah let out a soft chuckle and kissed the top of Damon’s head. “The last time he saw you, you were on your deathbed, and the only reason you didn’t die was because some powerful, mysterious original vampire that he definitely didn’t trust came in and offered an antidote for seemingly nothing in return. I imagine that he’s losing his mind at the moment.”

Damon rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. “God, why are you always right?”

“Could it be the thousands of years of life experience?”

“No, I think it’s some super magical secret.” Damon positioned himself to face Elijah. “What’s your secret?”

Elijah leaned closer until their noses were a hairsbreadth apart. “You’ve stalled enough,” he said, closing the gap between them to kiss Damon. “Go talk to Stefan.”

“What do I even say?”

“The truth would be the easiest explanation, but I understand if you’re not comfortable doing that.” Elijah gently slid a hand onto Damon’s cheek, pushing some of his hair back in the process. “I’m sorry if I made a complicated mess for you, but the thought of losing you-,”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m glad you helped me out. As it turns out, I prefer being alive.” Damon looked at the door, finally realizing just what it was he was about to go do. “And you’re right. I’ve avoided talking to Stefan about this for way too long. It’s time I man up and be a man, or whatever.”

Damon stood up from the bed and started walking towards the exit. About halfway there, though, he paused and turned around. “Wish me luck, I guess,” he said, offering Elijah a parting smirk.

“You’ll be just fine. Now go before Stefan sniffs you out and you find yourself in an even more complicated situation.”

Damon huffed a laugh and walked out of the room. He wasn’t sure what exactly he planned on telling Stefan, but he figured that winging it would be fine enough. He would gauge how Stefan felt about Elijah and base his explanation off of that. If he absolutely hated the guy, then Elijah had somehow found himself in Damon’s debt. If Stefan didn’t mind him, then Elijah was Damon’s old friend. But if Stefan liked or trusted him…

There was no reason to not tell him the truth.

The thought terrified him. Yes, he had told Elena, which had ended fairly well for him. But Elena was someone he had just met, someone who had occupied such a small portion of him immortal life. Taking a bet on how she’d react seemed insignificant to the risk Damon was making in telling Stefan. If his own brother reacted poorly, Damon didn’t know what he would do.

But he would never know unless he actually told him. Even when Damon and Elijah were together in the past, pre mindwipe, Damon had never even considered talking to Stefan about this. He really didn’t want to keep his relationship a secret or tell lie after lie to avoid anyone finding out. It would be exhausting, and quite honestly unfair to Elijah. He didn’t deserve to treated that way, as someone to be kept in the shadows and spoken about in a hushed voice, especially after waiting patiently for decades for Damon.

All of these things piled into Damon’s head as he walked up the pathway into his own house. At this point, he didn’t care how Stefan reacted. This was Damon’s life, and if Stefan didn’t want to be a part of it, so be it. He had lived without him before, he could do it again.

Damon had made up his mind. Stepping through the front door, he would tell Stefan everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I promise, next chapter, Stefan will finally be in the loop.


	10. A Dreaded Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to let yall know how difficult this chapter was for me to write. It was still fun, but it sure did take me a while.

_The man at the desk looked at the two strangers in front of him with confusion. “Just the one bed?”_

_Elijah responded. “Yes, that’s all we request.”_

_Damon could tell that he was getting irritated, but he was doing his best to keep a calm composure. Losing one’s temper in public was heavily frowned upon, apparently, and Damon understood why he wouldn’t want to draw attention to himself. Two grown men sharing a hotel room with a single bed would surely cause them problems if the wrong person overheard._

_“Are you sure, because we have plenty of rooms. I could book you two seperate rooms, or even a room with two beds.”_

_“One room, one bed. That’s what he asked for, so that’s what we would like,” Damon chimed in. His patience tended to be significantly thinner than Elijah’s. Damon looked the man behind the desk in his eyes. “So, write our names down in that little book of yours, and if anyone asks, just tell them that we’re in the middle of a very important drug deal.”_

_Damon leaned back, smirking as the man did exactly as he asked._

_“You compelled him?” Elijah leaned over to whisper in Damon’s ear._

_Damon shrugged. “I think his brain was going to explode before he could comprehend why we would be sharing a bed.” Elijah breathed a laugh. “God, I am hating this decade so far. So suffocating.”_

_Elijah leaned in more and planted a kiss on the side of Damon’s neck, right where he likes to bite him. He shivered at the touch._

_“It will get better,” Elijah said into Damon’s hair. “It always does.”_

 

~~~~~~~~

 

    Stefan immediately stood up from where he was brooding in front of the blazing fire place. If he had been worried, he didn’t let it show. For some reason, Damon was the only person that Stefan seemed to hide his emotions from.

    Damon forced himself to walk towards his waiting brother, but granted himself a few feet between them for his own comfort. If this went south, Damon wanted any chance of escape he could get.

    “So,” Damon said.

    The space between them was well beyond awkward, the tension palpable. Stefan seemed expectant, and Damon hoped that his patience would extend to him more than usual given what both of them had just gone through.

    “So,” Stefan said. “is there something you wanted to tell me?” His voice sounded defeated.

    “What?”

    Stefan gestured in Damon’s general area, as though that were explanation enough. For some reason, it was pissing Damon off the way his brother was acting right now. Would it hurt Stefan to at least pretend to not expect the worst of him, to not be waiting for him to screw up?

    “Yeah,” Damon said, fueling his words with as much anger as he could muster. “I have something to tell you.”

    Stefan raised his eyebrows and said “Okay,”

    “You’re a terrible brother,” Damon said. It’s not what he had planned to say, but he was going with what felt right. Stefan had told him over and over what he thought of Damon, so now he was going to return the favor.

    This clearly took Stefan by surprise. “What?” is all he could get out before Damon continued.

    “Throughout all the years we’ve spent as vampires, do you know how many times you have reached out to me? Every time that we’ve tried being in each other’s lives, it’s because I was the one to convince you to do it.” Damon stalked closer to his brother. His heart was pounding, and this time, it was not because he was nervous. If anything, he felt more confident in what he was saying than he could ever remember when talking to Stefan. “And even when you do give in to it, you make it perfectly clear that I’m a hindrance to you, that your life was better before I showed up.” Damon paused. “That you didn’t want me there.

    “And before you get all defensive, I know that I’m a handful. I know that I tend to mess up whatever peaceful life you’ve established for yourself. But you don’t even try to be in my life.” At this point, Stefan had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was looking down at the floor. It could’ve been because he was ashamed or because he was giving Damon a chance to speak his mind, but Damon didn’t care either way. “I’m your brother! Your family. We’re the only family we have left, and instead of having an actual relationship with me, you’ve managed to drive me away so many times that I can’t even tell you when I get a boyfriend!”

    Stefan’s head snapped up. “Boyfriend?”

    But Damon wasn’t slowing down. “Yes! Elijah, the original vampire that Elena let in to save me, the one you obviously don’t trust, is my boyfriend. But you would have known about that for years if you weren’t so idiotic.” Damon’s hands were at his side, his fists clenched. “And here I was too scared to tell you when it doesn’t even matter, because you’re just going to end up pushing me out of your life like you always do!”

    Damon’s chest heaved. Stefan was as still as a statue, clearly shocked. For a beat, the two brothers stood in front of each other, silent and unmoving.

    Damon couldn’t hear anything over the beat of his own heart. He couldn’t believe everything he had just said. He couldn’t even remember thinking them, instead just letting his feelings flow out of him in whatever order they pleased. It took him a second to fully realize what he had just told his brother. Not only did Stefan now know about his relationship with Elijah, but he also knows everything involving him that Damon had repressed until just now.

    He almost panicked, but there was nothing for Damon to do at this point. It was impossible to take anything back. Damon had played his hand. Now it was Stefan’s turn.

    Stefan spoke. “That’s it?”

    Damon scoffed. “What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”

    Stefan shrugged, surprised, yet relieved. “I thought you were about to tell me something much worse than that.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Your telling me that your big secret is that you hate me and you have a boyfriend?”

    “Is that not-?”

    “Damon, I already know that you hate me, and honestly, I’d be happier if you had a vampire boyfriend that you actually liked than if you had a human girlfriend that you only kept around for her blood.”

    “I thought you didn’t trust Elijah.” Damon was suspicious of Stefan’s easy acceptance of everything he had told him, so sue him for being just a little cautious.

    His brother sighed. “I guess I don’t, at least, not fully. You can’t blame me for not immediately trusting him just because you do. I don’t know anything about him. He hasn’t told anyone about his motivations, his loyalties, nothing.” Stefan seemed tired, explaining as if Damon were his kid brother, rather than his elder. “I don’t care what relationship you have with him, just be careful that you’re not getting played.”

    With that, Stefan turned to go to his room and end the conversation.

    When he was about halfway up the staircase, Damon called out. “We met in the fifties.” Stefan stopped midstep. Damon continued, his eyes cast down on the floor. “We worked together for about a year before I kissed him.” He looked up, directly at Stefan’s head. “We were in love for over a decade when Elijah had to leave.”

    Stefan turned his head to partly face Damon. “Why’d he leave?” he asked.

    “To protect me.”

    Stefan let out a huff.

    “Don’t tell me that I’m getting played when you know absolutely nothing about my life."

    Looking forward again, Stefan started to speak. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, but before the words finished coming out of his mouth, Damon was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I know generally what I want the rest of this fic to be about, but it's going to switch gears a little bit. I want to explore the relationship more, rather than just Damon and his issues. I'm not sure how many more chapters I will add, but I still have at least a few to go. 
> 
> Also, once I wrap up everything I want to in this, I plan on putting all of the flashback scenes in chronological order in their own companion fic. So if that's something you're interested in, it's coming. :)


	11. Getting Used to Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I don't really have an excuse, but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the wait. :)

**PART TWO: Family Business**

  


_The club was surprisingly packed for how late in the evening it was. Elijah knew that younger people loved nightlife, but he had never cared enough to experience it himself. That is, until he had no choice._

_The club he was currently in was on the higher end, thank goodness, allowing Elijah’s formal attire to go unnoticed. He sat amongst the low lights and the loud music of the local band, paying attention to every patron that entered. People mingled on the dance floor and kept to themselves at the various tables scattered meticulously throughout the club. Elijah sat alone at one such table, nursing the same drink he ordered when he first arrived. He wasn’t here to enjoy himself._

_There were a couple times that a woman would walk up to him and start flirting with him, only to be disappointed to hear that he was waiting for someone._

_Hours passed, people cleared out, and Elijah sighed to himself. He had wasted another night. He gave a cursory glance to the remaining people, just in case, and then exited the club._

_Outside, the night was dark, and there was hardly anyone else out walking. Elijah himself didn’t need to worry about any of the dangers most humans did, so he almost missed the strange sound coming from one of the many alleys._

_Elijah paused, turning around when he heard a clamor too loud to ignore. He may not need to fear anything, but that didn’t mean he would just allow humans to needlessly get hurt._

_The first thing Elijah noticed when he entered the alley was the silhouette of two people pressed together against a wall. He would have assumed it was a lovers’ embrace and left if it weren’t for the smell of blood._

_“Excuse me,” He called out, hoping whoever was causing the other person harm would get scared and leave. Instead, they completely ignored him. He stalked closer to the pair, intending to handle the situation swiftly and concisely._

_Surprisingly, the man, as he could now see, let go of the woman before Elijah was in arms reach of them. The woman fell to the ground, on the brink of death if the dwindling sound of her heartbeat was anything to go by. The man turned to face Elijah. A smile contrasted with the blood that dripped from his mouth and down his neck._

_No, not a smile. A_ smirk _._

_“Damon?” Elijah nearly gasped. He couldn’t believe his eyes. All of his careful waiting and searching these past few years only for him to stumble upon Damon in an alley of all places. “Damon, where have you been?”_

_“Oh you know, around the city,” Damon said, his words laced with a coldness Elijah had hoped to forget. “Snacking.”_

_“For five years?”_

_“Well, not the_ entire _time, obviously.”_

_“I’ve been looking for you, Damon.” Elijah was incredulous. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew when a vampire had turned off their humanity. He had never seen Damon without it, and had hoped he would never have to, yet here he was, as cold and emotionless as he could be. “You just disappeared.”_

_Damon rolled his eyes and held up his hands, as if annoyed by the implied question. “Okay, I was kidnapped, tortured, and turned off my humanity to escape, yada yada. By the time I got out, I was starving, so I’ve been indulging myself these past few days.” He paused. “Any questions?”_

_Elijah looked the man he loved in the eyes, hoping to see a glimpse of the person he had been five years ago._ Another disappointment _._

_Instead of responding with words, he closed the space between them, moving slowly as if to not startle a wild animal, and placed a hand on Damon’s cheek as gently as he could. They maintained eye contact the whole time, and the smile slipped off of Damon’s face. Elijah brought their faces together until their noses were almost touching._

_“Damon,” he said with as much emotion as he could muster. He didn’t care about anything Damon had done in their time apart. He didn’t care about the girl dying less than a foot away from them. Elijah only cared about the man in front of him. He only cared that the love of his life had experienced something so horrific that the only option he had seen had been to go back on the promise they made to each other and turn off his humanity. And Elijah knew that Damon was using his lack of emotions as a defense mechanism, that he was most likely hiding from some very traumatic things. But he also knew that Damon trusted him to pull him out. And that was exactly what Elijah planned to do._

_Looking Damon in the eyes, he prepared himself to compel his boyfriend. Before he got the chance, however, he saw his eyes change. Something filled the void in Damon’s eyes, and Elijah held his breath._

_“Elijah?” Damon pulled back and got a good look at him. Then, without another word, he buried his face in the crook of Elijah’s neck. Elijah didn’t say anything, only rubbed soothing circles on Damon’s back. And when Damon started trembling and he felt his shoulder become damp, Elijah still remained silent._

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Being honest was never Damon’s strong suit. His very nature didn’t allow for honesty in his everyday life. He had found that most people didn’t react favorably towards vampires, so hiding a central part of himself had become a habit. He had gotten so used to lying and compelling his way through life that being open about himself was a foreign concept, something almost unattainable. 

The state of his current life, however, demanded this level of truthfulness. 

Everyone important in Mystic Falls knew about vampires, and the only two people whose opinions he cared about now knew about his relationship with Elijah. In concept, Damon had absolutely no reason to hide anything about himself from anyone. Reality, however, proved to be a tad more difficult.

Damon had somehow managed to avoid any prolonged conversation with Stefan since coming out, and he wanted to keep it that way. Now that he said his piece, all he really wanted to do was to never address the issue again. 

The evening of a long day of nothing, however, forced Damon’s hand. 

Damon currently sat in the living room of his home, enjoying a glass of his favorite bourbon. He closed his eyes, took a sip, and knew that when he opened them, his brother would be seated across from him. 

“You’re kind of stealing my thing, don’t you think? Sneaking around, and all.” Damon said.

Stefan made himself comfortable on the couch. Facing the burning fireplace, he said “Sneaking up on you seemed to be the only way I could approach you without scaring you off.” 

“Oh, come on,” Damon huffed indignantly.

“It’s true! You’ve been avoiding me, at least more than usual.”

Damon rolled his eyes. 

“Please, just let me ask one question, and then you can go back to avoiding me the normal amount, okay?”

“Sure.”

Stefan turned to face his brother, and Damon reluctantly met his gaze. To a stranger, they were just two guys having a chat. These two, however, have known each other long enough to recognize that each of them were uncomfortable in their own ways. They rarely showed this side of themselves to anyone, and for them to do so mutually was even more unheard of. There had been something in what Damon had spilled that struck a chord with his brother.

Stefan rubbed the tips of his thumbs together. “I’ve noticed that you have been spending several nights somewhere else, and I assume it’s with Elijah.” He paused expectantly.

“That’s not a question.”

Stefan gave him a look that Damon was all too familiar with. The look of _You know exactly what I mean, you just want me to say it out loud._ He hated entertaining that look.

Stefan sighed, and continued. “Why not have Elijah stay here?”

Damon chuckled. “You really think that’s a good idea, something you would be okay with?”

“No offense Damon,” Stefan said. “But if Elena wanted to stay here, I would have her here regardless of how you felt about it.”

This time, when Damon laughed, it was genuine. “I have no doubt about that.” He paused, running his fingertips along the rim of his glass. Looking down, he quietly asked “Are you sure you can trust him?”

 Standing up, Stefan said “If you and Elena can both find it in you to trust him, then I have no reason not to.” He walked past Damon, giving him a gentle yet firm pat on the shoulder as he went. “So please, feel free to have him over.”

Damon downed the rest of his drink and stood up.

“Oh, and Damon?” Stefan stopped to say. “I’m sorry that I made you feel like you had to hide things from me. I never wanted that.” Stefan turned and went into a different room.

Damon walked out the front door. 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Despite his hesitance, Damon quickly grew comfortable with the arrangement his brother had suggested. Elijah thought moving in would make Damon’s life easier and help him get adjusted with his new openness, while also giving Stefan ample opportunity to get to know him as more than an age-old original vampire. Stefan’s done his best to give him a chance, and while Damon may not show it, he was very grateful for it. 

Elijah, of course, was as much of a gentleman as he ever was. A week later, and he was still acting as though he were just some temporary guest. Damon kept trying to tell him to make himself at home, especially since Elijah avoided being seen around town as much as possible for fear of his brother finding him. As much of a gentleman as his boyfriend could be, he was also stubborn beyond belief.

Damon wasn’t too worried about the whole evil brother situation. Other than Elijah showing up, there had been no indication that Klaus would make his appearance in Mystic Falls. If anyone were to be concerned, it would be Elena, but even she claimed to feel safe with four vampires and a witch to protect her. 

It had been a while since the last big threat to the town, and although it could get quite boring, Damon was not complaining. The two men had gotten the chance to properly catch up. Damon told Elijah all about Stefan’s new relationship with Elena and the humans that almost killed every vampire in town, and Elijah shared his time spent getting just close enough to his brother to gain his trust while still managing to lead him astray. 

“You did what?” Damon asked in disbelief.

Elijah chuckled. “I had a witch create a fake moonstone that looked identical to the real one, but once it was in a person’s hand, the illusion broke. It became an ordinary rock, but only to one person at a time. Klaus chased it for nearly two decades.” 

They were currently alone in the house, chilling on one of their couches and drinking blood bags. Stefan and Elena were both at school, so Damon wanted to take advantage of this time as much as he could before he was interrupted by whatever or whoever decided their needs were more important than his. 

Unfortunately for Damon, this happened sooner rather than later. 

Looking at the clock across the room, Damon groaned. “I have to go,” he said. “Sheriff Forbes called a meeting of the founding families.”

“To discuss what, exactly?”

“She wants to recreate the council with people she can actually trust, and somehow she hasn’t found a reason to stake me just yet.” 

Elijah reached out to cradle Damon’s jaw and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. 

“Then I suggest you practice your punctuality,” he said.

Damon huffed a laugh. “Are you trying to get rid of me? Because it’s definitely not that easy.”

“I just don’t want to see you mess up something so important to you,” he said with a small smile.

“And what makes you think I care about this?”

“No matter what you say, I can tell that you care about at least some of the humans here.” Damon looked down at his hands. “You have a heart, Damon. It’s okay to let that show.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Walking towards the place Liv had told him the meeting would happen, Damon had never felt happier. For once in his life, he had everything he could ever want, with nothing holding him back. 

He was going over his conversation with Elijah in his head when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Blood trickled down and stained his shirt. Damon felt the area that hurt and discovered a small dart sticking out. He barely had time to yank it out before his vision faded and he fell to the ground. 

When he came to, it was with his hands hanging from chains above his head and his feet barely touching the ground. He looked around at the fancy yet empty room he was in. Even though he was disoriented, Damon had the distinct feeling that something bad was on its way for him. 

Sure enough, a door behind him opened, and footsteps approached. 

“Hello, there,” a British voice said disturbingly close to him. The owner of the voice then came into Damon’s view: a man who at first glance appeared harmless, but had a certain darkness peaking through his eyes. “I believe you and I are going to become well-acquainted.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and for being patient with me!


	12. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter does mention torture. It's nothing too gruesome or extreme. It's about on par with what is shown in the show, but I wanted to let you guys know beforehand just in case you don't want to read it. This chapter is divided into three sections, so don't read the third section if you wish to skip it. I will also be updating the tags to reflect this.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

_“I can handle this!” Damon insisted._

_“I know you can handle it, but I also know my brother,” Elijah said calmly, though Damon could tell that he was anything but. “If he knows how much you mean to me, he will have no qualms about using you to control me.”_

_Damon rolled his eyes. “What can he do with me? I would never help him hurt you.”_

_Elijah sighed and started pacing in the slow, meticulous way that he does everything. “My brother, like me, is an original vampire, meaning that he is able to compel anyone, including other vampires. He could force you to do anything he wants. I’ve seen him do it.” He stopped in front of Damon and put a hand on his cheek. “I refuse to have to see you that way.”_

_Damon rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll go on vervain,”_

_“Klaus will simply drain you,” Elijah said. “And you don’t want to be on vervain.”_

_“Then what am I supposed to do?” For the first time in his life, Damon didn’t want to go anywhere. For the first time, he felt truly happy. He would be damned if he let anyone scare him away from it._

_Elijah tilted his head down at his feet before whispering, “Forget about it,”_

_“What?”_

_Elijah looked up to stare Damon in the eyes. “You forget about everything: Klaus, the moonstone,” he paused. “Forget about me,”_

_“What are you talking about?” Damon hated where this was going._

_“Allow me to take care of my brother alone. When he is gone, and it is safe again, I’ll come find you,” he suggested with such confidence that Damon couldn’t help but think he was right._

_Elijah gave him a moment to consider it._

_“How am I supposed to just forget all about you?” Damon asked in a small voice. He knew it would be safer for both of them if Klaus never found out about a potential weakness. He just hated that the only viable solution was for Damon to abandon his boyfriend. “I’d be worried the whole time,”_

_“I have an idea, but,” Elijah sighed. “You’re not going to like it,”_

 

~~~~~~~~

 

    Despite the annoyance Liz felt the entire time, the meeting with the new Founding Family members went well. The old members that Liz had invited back agreed to her terms and accepted her leadership, while the new members came to terms with the supernatural surprisingly well. Somehow, the reality of Mystic Falls being a safe and stable town didn’t appear to be a naive dream. 

    It was early evening, and Liz was utilizing this time to organizing her police paperwork and coming up with topics that she wanted to bring up at the next Founder’s meeting. She kept getting sidetracked, however. There were certain ideas that she wished she could’ve discussed with Damon directly after the meeting, as he is the closest confidant she has, and then she would be reminded that she was irritated with him for completely skipping the meeting.

    It was one thing for Damon to be somewhat aloof and flippant when it came to town issues, but it was something entirely different when he shirked his duty as both a member of this town and her friend. She really wanted him to be here, and he didn’t so much as call her to let her know he would not be attending. 

    She did manage to make some progress before she was interrupted by something else. 

    Liz jumped when her cellphone rang. Looking at the screen, she didn’t recognize the number. Answering, she wasn’t expecting much. She definitely was not expecting to hear the voice of Damon’s younger brother.

    “Is Damon with you?” he said, barely containing his urgency.

    Liz looked around, a confused look on her face. “No, I haven’t seen him all day,” she said. “Why? Is he not at home?”

    “Are you sure you didn’t see him?”

    “Stefan, what’s wrong?” 

Over the phone, Liz heard the young man let out a breathy sigh. There was a beat of silence before he said “Damon left this afternoon and nobody has seen him since.”

“Have you tried calling him?”

“He’s not picking up.” 

Liz ran a hand down her face. It wasn’t normal for Damon to disappear like this. She understood why Stefan sounded so nervous. Several scenarios ran through her mind, mostly worse-case, but she didn’t know if it was safe to discuss with someone as young as Stefan.

After a moment, she lowered her voice and asked, “Can you think of any reason your brother might be in danger?” She would rather expose Stefan to the world of vampires and keep Damon safe than to not say anything and leave Damon to fend for himself.

“Yeah,” Stefan sighed. “A few things cross my mind.”

 

~~~~~~

 

    Damon never shied away from spilling blood. He just prefered that it wasn’t his own.

After a brief but enlightening conversation with Klaus, the original vampire had ordered one of his goons to keep track of Damon. And apparently to Klaus, keeping track of someone meant draining their veins enough to keep them weak. 

He was a vampire, the man standing in front of him, though Damon couldn’t tell how old. He didn’t smile or show any delight in completing his task, instead doing it simply and efficiently. The room lacked a clock or any way to gauge time other than the changing of light that peeked through the curtained window, but after a seemingly regular increment of time, the man would get up from the chair he sat in, walk behind Damon, and slit his throat. There was no doubt in his mind that the man had been compelled.

He had done it at least eight times already. There were also four stakes speared into his chest and abdomen to maintain a steady stream of blood. The front of Damon’s shirt was completely soaked, and his mind was foggy from the constant choking. He supposed that was the point. There was no vervain in his system, and he had told Klaus as such. There wasn’t a point in hiding it after Klaus had deduced as such. 

He had gotten an honest answer out of Damon, forced out a truth that he otherwise would have kept to himself for the rest of his immortal life. 

The answer still burned on his tongue.

_Yes._

Torture was, well, torture. He had endured it before and had hoped he would never have to again, but while this situation was uncomfortable, it surely didn’t compare to the five years he spent in hell.

However, while the pain didn’t measure up, his fear did. Right now, he was an asset, a liability, a bargaining chip. Most of all, Damon was helpless. The only choice he had right now was to survive and wait for either Klaus to let him go or for someone to come get him. Both options sounded terrible to him. He didn’t want anybody he cared about to see him like this, but he definitely didn’t want to be used against them either. 

_Someone told me you would be quite handy to have._

Stefan and Elijah probably knew by now that he wasn’t where he should be, though whether they realized he had been kidnapped remained a mystery. Even if they did, Damon wasn’t sure he wanted to be found. If anything, he deserved all of this after what he did decades ago.

_Are you afraid of me?_

Damon closed his eyes, focusing on his heartbeat. 

_Yes._

The shame he’d felt in that moment overwhelmed him. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of Klaus’s venomous smile. It was a smile of nightmares, reminding him of what he was, what other people saw when they looked at him. Something dark twisted in Damon’s stomach. 

The scuffle of the chair pulled Damon out of his thoughts. He tugged on the chains holding his arms up the test his strength, but otherwise gave no fight when the man brought the knife upon Damon’s throat. 

This time, when his blood filled his airway, he savored the taste.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my last update until I start college, so there will be a bit of a wait until the next one. Don't worry though, I have big plans for the rest of this story ;)


End file.
